Charli XCX released the song and video for "SS26" this week, continuing what she has described as a rock-influenced creative direction following her previous single "Rock Music." The video, directed by Torso, features the singer walking down a runway in a series of outfits while flanked by spotlights and a shadowy audience, eventually walking off the end and into the abyss.
According to Variety, Charli previewed the release with a 30-minute "Pre Show" on YouTube in which she tried on different outfits and showcased clothes from designers she has recently worn, including Zadig & Voltaire in the "Rock Music" video and Lou de Bètoly at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival. She then premiered the official video.
The song opens with lyrics that connect the season to something darker. "Spring Summer 26/When the world is gonna end no hope for any of it," Charli sings over subtle synths. "Yeah we're walking on a runway that goes straight to hell." The video was directed by Torso, who previously worked with Charli on the airport-themed "Von Dutch" video during the Brat era, Rolling Stone reported.
Earlier in the week, Charli posted the song's lyrics to her Substack. Hours before the official release, she shared footage of the recording session in Paris, where she, A.G. Cook, and Finn Keane were in the studio together. In the clip, the crew ordered Japanese whiskey, a bottle of Sancerre, and a bucket of ice into the session. Like "Rock Music," the new track was co-written and co-produced with Cook and Keane.
Charli also posted a flier on social media inviting fans to "attend the presentation of Charli xcx SS26 directed by Torso."
The release follows a stretch of output that has kept Charli in near-constant motion. The reaction to "Rock Music" was divisive, particularly around the line declaring that "the dancefloor is dead." When she shared behind-the-scenes footage from that video, she addressed the response directly. "I'm not gonna explain where I was coming from with 'Rock Music,' but all I know is that things can be funny, earnest, sincere, and joyful all at the same time," she said. "And that's what I feel about a lot of the things I make."
She further addressed the criticism on social media, writing that she's "not trying to repel people away" or convince them into liking her. "If you get me, you get me," she said. "And if you don't, you don't. And thats ok <3"
In a British Vogue cover story that helped kick off the new era, Charli spoke about the shift in direction. "If I'd made another album that felt more dance-leaning, it would have felt really hard, really sad, but what's interesting for me is to bend the possibilities of what my perspective on that could be," she said. "For me, it's fun to flip the form. We know there's gonna be people who are bothered by it, but that's fine."
She later clarified on social media that the "Rock Music" single is not, in fact, rock music, captioning behind-the-scenes footage with the note that it was "a song called 'rock music' that is not actually rock music which is funny because I never said I was making a rock album."
Little else is known about what is assumed to be her upcoming seventh studio album. Her 2024 album "Brat" went on a global tour, and this past February she released the soundtrack album for Emerald Fennell's "Wuthering Heights," which featured collaborations with John Cale and Sky Ferreira. She also released her own film, "The Moment."
